Shaun joined the Phoenix Symphony as Principal Percussion in November of 2013. Mr. Tilburg’s previous position was as the Principal Percussionist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, where he played from 2007 until 2011. It was in Hong Kong that Shaun met his future wife, Madoka Suzuki. The pair moved back to the United States in the summer of 2011 and were married on a balcony overlooking Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.
Shaun has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and San Antonio Symphony. He has received fellowships with the Tanglewood Music Center, National Repertoire Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Opera of the Ozarks and Music Academy of the West.
In 2016, riding the success of his snare drum method book ‘The Regimen’, Shaun founded a music publication company called Pocket Publications. With 20 publications and growing, Pocket Publications has quickly established itself as an innovator in the industry. Shaun’s compositions have premiered all over the world, including the USA, Canada, Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Norway.
Mr. Tilburg has given master classes at the AZ Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion, the Colburn School, the New York Day of Xylophone and has also given classes in many universities across Asia. He taught at Arizona State University from 2014-2021, and joined the faculty of the Lynn Conservatory of Music in 2016.